On June 4, President Trump signed an order calling on agencies to waive environmental requirements under the Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Policy Act to fast-track federal approval for projects such as mines, pipelines and highways.
His reason: an economic emergency caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
On March 26, he declared that the EPA would not penalize companies that violate rules on monitoring and reporting pollution discharges and that businesses could determine for themselves if they are able to meet legal requirements on reporting air and water pollution. His reason: to ease the financial problems of fossil-fuel producers during the virus pandemic.
Since his inauguration in January 2017, Trump has rolled back over 100 environmental laws, using similar flawed reasoning. All this, despite strong evidence the climate is spiraling out of control. In my long years, I’ve not seen a president so intent on doing the wrong things.
Douglas Merrill
Lafayette
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